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Martin on the TGO Challenge 2017

Friday, 14 June 2013

A Pyrenean Adventure

Sue and I set off tomorrow – on the 16.06 from Navigation Road to Elsenham – on this year’s Alpine adventure, which is in the Pyrenees.

Having walked the HRP (Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne) in 2004, our path on this occasion is the easier GR10 route on the French side of the Pyrenees. It’s shown above on Traildino’s map, as a thin red line from Hendaye-Plage, on the Atlantic coast, to Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean.

The whole trip will take about two months to cover 900 km (560 miles) in a rather leisurely fashion with plenty of rest days. We will ascend a total of around 50,000 metres, topping out at about 2,500 metres.

Sue still can’t carry backpacking kit, so she is returning home from Luchon, approximately half way, after a month, as a tent is needed after that. We have spent the last couple of days booking accommodation for ‘Phase 1’, so we are fairly committed to the itinerary that can be viewed here.

I’ve also sorted out a bit of camping gear for ‘Phase 2’ and have today posted it to Luchon – thanks go to Mike and Annette Jones at Villa Portillon for agreeing to store it for me.

TGO Challenger Graham Brookes is planning to join me from Luchon for a wild couple of weeks, up to Vicdessos, following which I’ll enjoy my own and random bodies’ company for the stroll to the Med.

I’ll enjoy composing regular postings, though I still have much to learn regarding the S3 phone. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them.

Regular readers may be familiar with this picture of one of our best camping spots from 2004 (there were lots of very good ones), by Lac d’Ansabere.